Hiding
by MarcWinter
Summary: Zelda asks Link if a person can hide who they are, prompting a brief conversation that could change the dynamic of the two. An unspecified era, after the games, but still a world where Ganon had attacked. One-shot.


**Get this, I wrote this story back in 2015, but never posted it. Why? I have no idea. I was younger and foolish, I guess.**

 **Regardless, It's just a short, little conversation I've touched it up slightly, so I hope it's readable.**

 **Enjoy!**

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"Do you think a person can really hide who they are?"

Link turned his head to Zelda. "I'm sorry?"

The two were taking a stroll down the hallways of the castle. They were passing by the portraits of previous Royal families hung on the walls, which Link was taking the time to appreciate. He was enjoying himself in general, as he seldom got to walk through the castle freely, let alone with Zelda. He was always escorted by guards and even then he only went on a direct path to the destination. Being able to spend his time with his best friend without any real itinerary was a nice change of pace.

"Can people really hide their true selves?" Zelda asked again. She never made eye contact, choosing to focus on the paintings. At first Link thought she was merely thinking out loud, rather than trying to make conversation, but the fact that she repeated herself proved otherwise.

Link thought for a second, then simply said, "Nope."

"Really?" Zelda asked, turning her head towards him.

"Really." Link repeated. "Why do you ask?" He followed her gaze as she looked back to the walls.

"I was just thinking about some of the princesses in previous generations." Zelda began. "One disguised herself as a Sheikah. Another lived as a pirate, discovered her Royal connection, but then went back to being a pirate. Do you think people knew there was more to them? Did the Hero know that she wasn't a Sheikah or that there was something beneath the sarcastic pirate captain?"

"I think the Hero of Winds found out she was a princess the same time she did." Link pointed out.

A small smile appeared on Zelda's face. She lightly pushed Link, bringing out a smile from him, "You know what I mean. The other people, her crew, not just the Hero." The princess stopped walking and turned to face a painting. It was from the generation of the Hero of Time. "I wonder if anybody knew what was behind her mask."

Link stepped behind Zelda, admiring the painting with her. "Well, why do you think people wear masks?"

Zelda turned her head slightly to address her friend. "To keep their identities a secret. Sometimes for decoration, I guess."

"Not quite." Link said. "Or at least, not the way I see it. I've always thought that a mask is meant to either hide something or hide the lack of something. It could be hiding an identity or somebody who's hasn't smiled in years. Hiding a scar or hiding a face that can't cry."

"Oh? I'm not sure a simple cloth over her mouth would be able to hide that much." Zelda said, smiling.

Link chuckled. "No, probably not. But I don't think that cloth was the only mask she had."

Zelda turned around to face him. "What do you mean?"

Link scratched the back of his head, gathering all of his thoughts. "Well… I don't think the Hero of Time saw through the Sheikah clothes. I don't think he knew there was a princess underneath there. But he knew that she wasn't just some stone faced observer. He could see that behind the calm red eyes there was anxiety, fear, pain… He knew that even if she acted calm in order to better handle a situation, there was still a panic inside. One that everybody had. One that he wanted to help get rid of."

Zelda thought for a moment, then tilted her head with a playful smirk. "That's surprisingly insightful of you, Link."

He shrugged, returning the look. "Hey, I have my moments." The two began walking again, leaving the hallway of Royal portraits, and heading to garden.

"But what if that's all a person knew?" Zelda asked. "What if their whole life they denied what they were feeling and put on a mask? Wouldn't that count as hiding their true selves?"

Link shook his head. "I don't think so. But I'm just one opinion."

"But why don't you think so?" She asked, trying to better understand her best friend.

"I think that if somebody can go, literally, their entirely life masking who they are inside, then they are either lying about or misunderstanding who they truly are. The mask they wear is really who they are, whether they know it or not. And anybody who does know who they are, will let that mask slip. They wouldn't be able to keep up the facade, because it wouldn't feel right."

"Interesting." Was all the Princess said as she let Link's words soak in.

"If I may be so bold, you're the latter of the two." Link said casually as he strolled.

Zelda turned to him, shocked. "What? What do you mean? I'm not wearing a mask."

They began to approach some particularly potent flowers, so Link began to slow his pace down. "See, Zelda, I've met a lot of people. There weren't many deep, long lasting connections, but when all you do is meet people in passing, you developing a slight ability to take in more than just face value. Or, I guess, what I can only assume is past face value. I saw Gerudos hiding their faces for professional purposes and Hylians hiding their personalities for personal ones. There's one mask I saw the most, so it's the one that I've been able to see past almost immediately." Link stopped at a red colored flower bush, but still looked at Zelda from the side. "It's the same mask you have."

Zelda seemed slightly uncomfortable, but not because of Link's company, but for something different altogether. "Again, I don't have a mask. But what are you referring to?"

Link game a smile, knowing smile. "You're trying to hide fear."

Zelda was slightly taken aback, and tilted her head down slightly. "Why would you say that? Ganondorf's gone, Hyrule is growing again, why should I be afraid? Sure, there's always foreign threats, but those are always rather unpredictable and…"

Link gently placed a hand on her arm. "Zel. Hey." She looked at him, and he just smiled back warmly. "It's not a bad thing. I could be completely wrong, but it just seems like you're afraid of not being strong enough. You put on a face that shows pride and leadership, but there's a worry that you won't be good enough. We've all been there. We're all still going to be there again. You aren't alone."

Zelda looked over at the flower bush, but placed her hand on her arm, where Link's had been. "I guess I'm pretty transparent, huh?"

Link chuckled slightly, worrying Zelda. But he quickly followed it with, "No, not at all. If I wasn't so close to you, I'd never be able to tell what exactly is happening in your head. I'd only see that something was upsetting you."

Zelda sighed and continued on their path. "I'm just worried that something like Ganon could happen again. We stopped him, but look at the price. It'll take years to fully rebuild. And all because I couldn't warn anybody."

"You still tried though." Link said trailing closely behind her. "You never gave up. Even when he had already struck, you were still taking preventative measure. Like giving me the Ocarina of Time, just like the Princess from the Era of the Hero of Time. And you would rally people together, get spirits high, despite how you may have been feeling. You never gave up. You never admitted defeat. That's brave."

Zelda looked up at him, with a small smile.

Link smiled back. "Trust me, I know bravery. I have the Triforce of Courage."

Zelda laughed. "You're an interesting man, Link." She looked up at him. "I'm very happy to call you my friend."

Link smiled down at her. "I know the feeling."

"So what about you, Link? Any masks that I can't see? You're pretty straight forward with what's on your mind, I can't imagine there's much hidden."

Link began walking again. "Sure. There are things I keep to myself."

Zelda caught up to him. "Anything that would change how I see you? Something that you fundamentally call your own but don't feel comfortable letting somebody else know?"

Link shrugged. "Probably."

Zelda giggled. "Probably? Are you not sure?"

Link chuckled. "I mean, all I know is how I view it. I may be too nervous to share it, but I can't say if it's life changing or not. I wouldn't be up to me to make it change anything."

Zelda raised on eyebrow. "I'm afraid you've lost me. If it's your thought, wouldn't you be the deciding element of change?"

"Not in this case." Link said, stopping by a blue flower bush.

"Why's that?"

Link leaned in to get closer to the flowers. He felt their petals in his finger, taking in their warm scent. "It involves somebody else."

Zelda leaned down with him. "Who?"

He glanced over with an amused smirk. "You."

Zelda looked surprised at how quickly she got it out of him. "Really? What's it about?"

Link stood up straight and kept walking. "May I ask why you want to know?"

Zelda followed him, staying as close to him as the path would allow. "I want to help you!"

Link stopped and turned to her. "Wait, what?"

"I want to help you." She said, keeping eye contact. "You said whatever it is might be life changing. If I can have an impact on your life, I'd really like to. As long as it's for the better, of course."

Link blinked a couple of times. "I thought you were just going to say it was because you wanted to know."

Zelda laughed. "Well, yeah, I'd like to know, but that's not the biggest reason for my prying."

Link smiled at her. "That's very like you. always looking out for me. You said I'm pretty straight forward, but there's is one thing I've hidden from you. Maybe out of fear, maybe not, I don't know."

Link grabbed Zelda's hands and looked down at her. He looked deep into her eyes, seeing past any barrier she had put up, seeing who she really was as a person. Letting down his own shields, letting her in, without her even having to try. He smiled his warm, comforting smile, the one that always made her feel at ease. Zelda found herself smiling back, unable to stop herself in the moment. Neither even had to say exactly what it was.

She squeezed Link's hands. "You know, I was hiding something just like that." Zelda let go of Link's hands and wrapped her arms around his neck. She pulled him down slowly, until the gap between the two was closed.

"But now, I don't feel like I need to hide anymore."

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 **I couldn't decide who should've said the ending line. So I'll just leave it open!**

 **I hope you liked it!**


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